


Where's my Fairy Tale Ending?

by ProfoundlyInLove



Series: Oops killed another one [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: College, Death, Home, M/M, Military, home coming, returning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-21
Updated: 2013-06-21
Packaged: 2017-12-15 16:09:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/851470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ProfoundlyInLove/pseuds/ProfoundlyInLove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel promises that if after college, Dean still wants to be together, than they can. But returning home to Kansas, he finds that someones taken their fairy tale ending and ripped it to shreds.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where's my Fairy Tale Ending?

College changes most people. They go in as children, new to the world, and exit with a new understanding of the earth they lived on. The real world, slapping them in the face. Suddenly there were things that needed their attention. Taxes, working, relationships. It's all much harder than in movies and television. Things actually mattered now, the choices they made, people they surrounded themselves with, and who they were. Though, high school will never leave you. It will always be standing behind you, breathing down your neck.

Cas left his home town behind, without ever telling Dean goodbye. Sure he left him a letter, explaining that Cas couldn't bear to say goodbye to Dean's face, but that didn't satisfy Dean in the slightlest. But he knew Cas had made his choice, taking Dean's heart with him to university. Cas promised that if after college, Dean still wanted to be with him, they'd do it. That was their goodbye. Dean held on to that promise every day, reminding himself that Cas will be back one day, and he'll have his happy ever after with the man of his dreams.

But now was the present. Cas had graduated with a degree in electrical engineering. The humid Kansas air covered him as it became late in the evening. He knew where Dean would be, if he'd stayed in town, after all. The autoshop that Bobby had owned. Singer Motors. Dean had worked there since he was tall enough to see into the hood, even if he had to have a crate under him. Something he loved doing, and was good at. That is one of many reasons Cas couldn't take Dean away from this place. His home was here, family, and friends. Cas could never ask that of Dean.

When he opens the door to the garage, a little bell rings, slightly off key like it always did. Cas it met with the wall that Bobby kept photos on, like he always had. Some new, some old. He could see himself as a teenager, Dean covered in grease, Dean's parents, Sam, and one extremely embarassing photo that he couldn't believe Bobby still had up. Dean had taken a picture of them together, and hung it up on the wall, refusing to take it down. Aparently Dean was still a stubborn soul. Cas reached out, touching the photo fondly. This place held good memories of Dean and himself. Especially Dean teaching him everything he knew about cars. Cas knew without Dean's help, he'd have never survived college. The amount of times he'd broken down was astounding, though his car was older than himself. Not impala old, sure, but definitely old.

"Hey, man, we're closed." Someone interrupted, coming out from the back. He wiped his hand over his forehead, leaving oil in its place. It reminded him of Dean. The teen was tall, extremely tall. Castiel was tall himself, but this man was a whole new level of tall. But something about his face was nagging at Cas, familiar.

"Sam?" He questioned, not at all sure. The guy seemed the right age, almost an adult, looked like Sam, and worked in the shop. For the most part, Bobby had kept the staff down to family and friends, at least when he was here thats how things were. But time does change things.

"Yeah..Who's askin'?" Sam said warily, looking straight at Castiel, as if he were peering into his soul looking for an answer to his question. Cas could hear the slight country accent in Sam's voice, which ultimately reminded him of Dean's southern twang. He may try and hide it, but Dean had an accent, which Castiel personally loved. He never developed an accent, having parents whom tried to raise him "city" in a "country" place. Didn't work to much extent, but one thing that stuck was his way of speaking.

"I don't know if you remember me, but I'm Castiel." He smiled, reaching his hand out to Sam. He expected more shock and less sadness. But the sadness the overtook Sam's face was alarming. What had he done? Had Dean moved on?

"Cas, man, haven't seen you in ages." He smiled a little, just barely, while pulling Cas in for a hug. Sam held on a little longer than necessary. What was going on?

"Yeah, you were tiny when I left. Growth spurt." Cas laughed pulling away, his smile genuine. He'd missed Sam, he'd been like the younger brother he never had. Castiel had always been the little brother, of four. The only brother Dean and Sam had met was Gabriel, and he surely left an impression. Gabriel had accidently set off a stink bomb in his own suitcase while visiting home. The family had to evacuate the house for the whole night, Gabriel and Castiel had stayed with the Winchesters. It had been an interesting night, Gabriel had told them stories of university and traveling. That was when Castiel decided he wanted to go to college as well.

Sam laughed, nodding, looking Cas up and down. "Man, you've been missed around here." Cas grinned, this gave him hope. Maybe his worries were for nothing. He was longing for Dean, just wanting to be near him. They'd been apart far too long, Cas felt. As teenagers, they were attached at the hip. Whenever they were apart, people reacted as if the great flood had come. Out of the closet, completely in love, and ultimately happy. Dean made everything better, even on the darkest days.

"Really." Sam nodded, holding back tears, looking at the ceiling to keep them from spilling. "Sam, what's wrong?" Cas asked, worry shooting through him like a hit in the veins.

"Cas, I don't know how to break it to you. But Dean's dead." Tears poured down Sam's face, slow and earth shaking.

"What?"

"He died in Iraq, when you left he joined up. He was burried last month." Sam whispered, wiping his tears away. His grief new and undealt with. Cas lost Dean, and by a month. He died before Cas could come back and they could do all the things they'd promised.

_"Cas, one day, we should get married." Dean smiled, looking at Cas with eyes full of hope and love. They'd been looking up at the sky, finding pictures in the clouds. Dean had a habit of finding anything even slightly dirty while Cas kept seeing things that reminded him of Disney movies. Very opposite, but they fit together like a two piece puzzle only ever made for them._

_"You'd marry me?" Cas asked, amazed that Dean suggested this. Marriage never seemed like his sort of thing. Dean seemed more like a drifter than a man who would settle down and have a family with someone else._

_"Absolutely, and we could have a little girl!" Dean said happily, smiling at Cas, the idea of having a family with Cas overjoyed Dean. It was something that Dean would fantasize about whenever he'd zone out of the world for a few moments. Cas, him, and a little girl. Them together in some picket fence home in the suburbs. If Dean could have any life, that is the life he'd choose. A family, the love of his life, it sounded perfect to him._

_"Really?" Cas smiled, looking into Dean's eyes, he could see the glimmer of happiness and hope. Dean nodded, so Cas leaned in for a small, meaningful kiss._

"He's gone?" Cas whimpered, feeling as if his whole world had crashed around him. Grief crashing into him, painful and angry. Dean had never mentioned the army as an option, he never even knew it was on the table.

Sam nodded sorrowfully. The loss of his brother was written all over his face, like a novel that never became a hit. He wiped his eyes one last time, "He left you something." He said, turning back to over the desk. Cas has fond memories of Dean sitting at that desk on long summer days pretending to work, but actually just chatting Cas up.

Sam retrieves a rather large box, handing it to Cas. It was lighter than he'd expected. When he opened the lid, there were letters, hundreds of them. All marked "Castiel Novak-Winchester." with a small squiggle afterward. Cas looked up at Sam, gaping.

"He didn't want you to feel inclined to return, so he kept them. He intended to give you them when you came back, but he never got the chance. There's two more boxes, Cas. He wrote you constantly. He'd send them from Iraq, he used to say that if you came back while he was gone, to never let you leave." Sam smiled, only slightly, recalling Dean's exact words being "If he comes home, don't let him leave, or I'll fucking kill you." But Cas didn't need that.

Cas stared at the letters, not able to gather a sentence to say.

"He's burried on the hill, under the willow. Your guyses place." Sam's smile remained small, he wondered if he'd ever get over the loss of his brother. The man that raised him, more so than his own parents. Does one ever recover from such a loss?

Cas only nodded, turning and leaving without a word. Sam knew he'd be back, and Cas knew that as well. He's not sure he can ever leave this town again, knowing this is where Dean finally laid at peace.

Driving to the hill didn't take long at all, Cas walked up the long expance of dark green grass. The willow looked much more alive than when he left this place. If he rememebered correctly, it was nothing more than a dead wrangle of wood. But now it was a thriving, beautiful, old willow tree. He knew why.

Dean.

Cas dropped down on his knees infront of the gravestone. "Dean Winchester. Son, brother, lover." That's when Cas finally broke. Tears flowed down his face freely, as he leaned into the stone, as if it were the only thing keeping him up.

"Dean, I'm so sorry." He cried out, desperate. All he wanted was another lazy morning with Dean. Just one more. Tangled together in a single bed, hands laced together as one. Whispering their dreams to each other, good or bad. Dozing in and out of sleep, just happy to be together.

" _You came back_." Cas snapped up, looking back. There was Dean, in a combat uniform, smiling. There was no anger in his eyes, nothing but happiness filled them. Cas stood up, terrified he'd finally lost his mind. Finally all those sleepless nights had gotten to him.

"You're not real!" He cried out, tears cascading. That made him realize, he wanted it to be real. He wanted to have a conversation with Dean.

" _You know I am, baby._ " He smiled, walking towards Cas. His hand touched Cas' cheek, to Cas' surprise, he felt it. His eyes went wide, and he wrapped his arms around Dean tightly. Dean chuckled, wrapping Cas up in the hug, burrowing his face into Cas' neck. Finally, Dean was home.

"Dean I'm so sorry." Cas whispered.

" _No reason. You had to go_." Dean said calmly, staying in Cas' arms happily. He'd missed this more than he realized. He'd stay right where they were forever if he could, but he knew he had to let Castiel live his life, as he had lived his own.

"I'll never leave you again." He sobbed, which made Dean inhale sharply.

" _You have to, baby. Live a good life, for me. Please?_ " He whispered, Cas couldn't help but cry. This was goodbye. He was saying goodbye.

"I can't."

" _You can. You can do anything, angel_." Dean kissed Cas one last time, before stepping back.

" _Baby, I'll be waiting for you upstairs_."

Then he was gone.

And Cas cried.


End file.
